Easter Gift Card Party

The other night my family and I went over to my sister's home for a late Easter party with my dad's family. We have been trying to get together since Easter but I got sick and then my sister had golf and suddenly it was already June.

My dad and I were especially excited for this get-together because we wanted to test out a new way of celebrating a holiday that includes gift-giving. Now I like gift giving because I like to find ways to serve other people. But with the family getting bigger and money getting tighter it can become a big stress and not something anyone would want to have during a holiday.

And then Kristy and I heard of this fun idea which I shared with my dad which should solve the stress and money woes but also keep the spirit and the fun of gift giving. We were going to give each other gift cards but in a different sort of way.

After a great BBQ and the games we had Root Beer Floats for dessert.

The rules are simple. Every member of every family is in charge of getting a $5 gift card from where ever they want. They could be grocery stores, Amazon, iTunes, places to eat, Walmart... ...you get the idea. After you purchase the gift card then you place them into an empty white envelope and seal them up. At the party you then put them all in a hat or bowl or where ever and then you play some sort of game to decide who gets to draw first.

We played Apples to Apples for our game. Jill won the first round so she got to choose a gift card. She opened it and it was a $5 gift card to Twilzberry (a frozen yogurt joint). Then Jace won and he chose a gift card (to Hastings) and then we kept playing until all the gift cards were chosen. But, if you won a round and you had already won a round, you could steal a gift card that was already opened or you could keep your current one. I really liked Jill's giftcard and I managed to snag it but then Pauline won her first (she was the last one to win) and she grabbed mine so I had to take the last unopened giftcard (which coincedently was the one she brought) which was a $5 giftcard to McDonald's. I cannot complain, I am sure I can find something there.

It was a lot of fun to play these games for the giftcards and we plan on getting together again for dinner and then telling everyone what we bought with our giftcards.It was so successful that we plan on doing it again this Christmas. The only difference is that the young kids will be excluded and this will only be for adults. And the game might change as well, we might go for our usual poker tournament.

The Breinholt Family Christmas Party

Every year, the weekend before Christmas the Breinholt family gathers for our annual Christmas party.

Merry Christmas!

And we almost didn't make it. It was very snowy and treacherous driving through the canyon but we made it and we even made it on time!

One of the things that I enjoy the most is watching all the cousins play and open the gifts from each other. Seeing their eyes light up when they rip the wrapping paper off and seeing how happy they are receiving a small but very thoughtful gift. It means much more to them that the gift was given to them from their cousin.

When the family was smaller, I used to participate in the gift exchange and I was surprised at the gifts that I got. Each one was extremely thoughtful, I remember getting a Green Bay Packer CD, a Jets crystal, a case of Mountain Dew Livewire, a bunch of Star Wars Pez Dispensers, Pictionary, a Princess Leia action figure from some of the past Christmas parties. I know I got many other things that I cannot think of from the top of my head. It is not the gift itself that made me happy, it was the thought behind it.

I thought it was so awesome that Cassie gathered all the cousins together in the front room.

Logan had Kellie this year and he made a pair of earrings and bracelet for her. She was so excited to get it. She went over to Logan to have him help her put the bracelet on. Her older sister Cassie told her that she should go and hug Logan and Kristy for giving her such a special gift. Cassie must still have some Anti-Matt Agenda still going. I snagged a hug from Kellie anyway.

Logan was quite happy with his gift. He got a science kit.

See how happy everyone is? You can tell that Cassie and Kellie are sisters. They giggle the same way.

I know that this Christmas party was a little more stressful than some of the past ones. I hope that I was not a cause for this stress. If I was, if I offended anyone, please forgive me. I apologize, it was definitely not my intent to offend anyone.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for hosting the party and for the gifts we received. I will make I put them all to good use!